The Power of ONE

The Power of ONE is a rule that absolutely must be applied in marketing if you want your marketing to work. It’s the rule I see broken most frequently, and a major reason entrepreneurs struggle to create effective marketing and profitable businesses.

As business owners we want to serve, and we don’t want to leave anyone out. The result is too many entrepreneurs are trying to be everything to everyone.

How does this show up in a business?

Speaking to too broad of an audience. For example: women, or working women, or women who need to lose weight. These categories are too broad. You want to select a niche or a small group of ideal clients and focus on designing a business, products and services, and marketing that speaks to them. Define them as clearly and concisely as you can. The more you understand exactly who they are and what their specific challenges are, the better you can design a business, brand, and marketing that will serve them effectively.

Another way this shows up is with the “Jane of all trades.”

You know what I’m talking about. “Mary Smith is a speaker, author, coach, mentor, trainer, consultant, social media expert, branding expert, work-at-home mom, baton twirler….” Okay, so I’m having a little fun with it, but you know you’ve seen it, or done it. I even admit at one time I did it. But I can tell you it was when I was unclear about WHO I was and WHAT I wanted to stand for. I had eight different businesses at the time and was running in too many directions, chasing success. And it was a disaster!

There’s nothing wrong with talking about all the things you do in your longer bio, but let’s pick a space, let’s pick WHO and WHAT we really are, and be willing to hang our hat on it. When you try to be everything it’s not believable. Who can really be ALL of those things and be good at them?

It also signals that you’re suffering from an identity crisis, which leads us right into part two of The Power of ONE rule.

#2 Identifying your ONE branding platform

I hate to say it but I see a lot of copycatting going on out there, especially in the online world. Perhaps its because everything is out there for the world to see—it’s the epitome of living out loud.

I’ve watched the trend over the years…someone will begin talking about a topic, and then pretty soon everyone else has glommed onto it. It’s the new hot trend, or buzzword. People start designing their businesses, brands, and marketing around this new topic because they think it’s the path to success.

This saddens me because I believe we are smarter than this.

But more importantly, it reflects poorly on the copiers and it really doesn’t serve them in the long run.

There’s nothing wrong with being aware of what others are saying and doing, but when it comes time to identify your platform, and what you stand for, and deliver in terms of products and services, it absolutely must be uniquely you.

I know it can be a challenge to identify the ONE thing you stand for, but you must take the time to discover it.

There is only one YOU, with your unique collection of experience and expertise and talents. It’s that unique collection that you need to package into a branding platform, and products and services.

When you can do that, it will be so clear to your ideal clients that you have the DEEP experience and expertise to help them. Without that deep experience and solid foundation, you simply don’t have the depth to succeed in business.

So while that platform that’s the hottest trend may seem like the quick road to success, and it may generate some immediate attention, it’s not going to support your business in the long run, because you just won’t have the goods to back up the promise.

#3 Identifying your ONE marketing objective

One of the biggest mistakes I see people make in their marketing is not having a clear, singular objective, and then making sure the marketing is written and designed to fulfill that objective.

You see it every day when you go to a website and the home page invites you to take 10 different actions (e.g. sign up for my ezine, register for a free consultation, check out my coaching programs, go watch this free video, look at all my credentials, email me if you have questions, read this article over here….)

That’s what the different pages on your website are for. Each page should have ONE main objective. Ask yourself, what’s the ONE action I want people to take when they come to this page, and write and design the page to give them all the information to decide if that action is the right step for them. The same goes for any other marketing piece you create: ads, brochures, business cards, etc.

By the way, the “throw everything at them approach” is a dead giveaway the business owner is violating the first two Power of ONE rules.

When you are not clear WHO you are, WHAT you do, and WHO you serve, it’s next to impossible to be singularly focused in your business or marketing.

I encourage you to take a look at your business, your brand, and your marketing and ask yourself if you’re applying The Power of ONE to each area. If you’re not, that’s a great place to start when making over your business. Put this rule into practice and I promise you’ll not only feel more excited about, and comfortable with marketing your business, but everything will begin to shift.

You’ll begin attracting your ideal clients, because they’ll recognize you’re the best person to help them.

You’ll begin attracting opportunities to speak and share your message, because it’s unique and no one else is talking about it the way you do.

And, no one will ever look at you and say “She’s just another….” (you can fill in the blank with any generic title…e.g. life coach, wellness coach, marketing consultant, business coach, organizing expert.)

There is only ONE you. It’s time to claim your space and design your business around that!

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3 comments on “The Power of ONE”

I really like the “power of one” concept and it’s so true! I think of consistency as well. We are bombarded with so many messages, especially in social media, I can see how a person may want to gravitate to other topics or audiences. Thank you!

Yes, there is only ONE of us, and we need to focus and go deep rather than attempting to appeal broadly. In focusing – in determining and abiding by the ONE – way we sustain our message, stay true to ourselves and better serve our clients.

Thanks for chiming in Caroline. I’m glad you enjoyed the article. I loved it when I read your comment about staying true to ourselves. It’s so easy in this “live out loud world” of social media and websites and blogging to become too focused on what everyone else is doing, and believe we need to do what they’re doing to make it. I believe it’s more important than ever to find the ONE true place you can stand. Have a point of view. Take a stand. Refuse to follow the crowd. It’s refreshing, and I also believe it serves people in a much more powerful way. We don’t need a bunch of “mini me’s” running around. We need purpose-driven people with a mission!